Adam is a fire ant.

He works very hard even in summer when it finally stops snowing and sometimes it doesn’t rain. On Main Street at the bridge over a small river, Graham the grasshopper was bouncing around working on his suntan. Adam struggled past, heaving a cumbersome weed on his way back to the family’s storeroom. It was always the same, those insects are so darn lazy but not Adam oh not not Adam dammit.

– Why not stop and chat a while, asked the grasshopper scratching his soft underbelly, -instead of breaking a sweat?

– I am doing my duty. I am following orders. I am part of the greater good. And, I am a lean mean working machine.

– Who cares about any of that? said Graham with a grin. – It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood and pub is open. Care for a drink? My treat?

Adam shook his tiny head and went back to work, muttering about free-loaders. They saw each other there every afternoon at three. They did not talk to each other. Graham grew fat and happy, he tanned up nicely too, all crispy and crunchy.

When the weather turned back to winter, Graham was on the bridge again, waiting for the pub to open. Adam did not show up. He was home having a decent meal in comfort. Fat and happy.

However, Graham was alone in the snow and growing skinnier by the day. Poor Graham. The pub was closed for the season.